“VANCOUVER—B.C.’s real-estate market has gone from being one of the strongest in the country to the weakest as the number of sales drops sharply in comparison to other provinces.

The B.C. Real Estate Association (BCREA) is forecasting a 21 per cent drop in sales in 2018. Meanwhile, the number of sales in July was 24 per cent lower than the previous July, according to Douglas Porter, chief economist and managing director of BMO Financial Group….

“…..Compared to the rest of the country we are noticing that it’s especially weak, which is quite a turnaround from what we’ve seen over much of the past 10 to 15 years,” Porter said. “It’s quite unusual for Vancouver to stick out.”

“Usually you’d have five to 10 sales a month, but we’ve only had one in the last six weeks. Everything above $2 million is pretty much dead; anything related to international money is gone right now.”

Prices have also declined for downtown condos in the $600,000 to $700,000 range, Watt said.

In relatively affordable Langley and Abbotsford, where a two-bedroom, two-bathroom townhome goes for between $300,000 and $400,000, it’s a similar story: seven or eight weeks ago, sellers would receive multiple offers. Properties are now sitting on the market for longer, said Tim Sawatzky, a realtor with 2 Percent Realty Valley.

Where it was once common to see lineups to buy condo pre-sales contracts, Sawatzky said developers in Surrey, Langley and Abbotsford are now offering a variety of incentives, such as a $20,000 “furnishing package,” or between $20,000 and $40,000 off the closing price when the building is completed. (When buyers purchase a pre-sale condo contract, they typically pay five to 15 per cent of the price up front and then pay the full amount after the building is completed.)

All sorts of cash incentives in the market right now if that’s your sort of thing. Read the full article here.

From southseacompany: this survey claims that more than a quarter of Canadians think that another rate increase would push them into bankruptcy.

The poll comes just days before an anticipated interest rate hike by the Bank of Canada and was conducted on behalf of MNP, a leading Canadian bankruptcy firm, between June 15 and June 19. The same poll found that 42% of Canadians say that if interest rates rise much more their financial well-being will be put in jeopardy.

The Bank of Canada has raised interest rates three times since last summer, and investors expect the central bank will boost its target for the overnight rate to 1.5% this Wednesday (July 11).